What is the p53 gene simple?

A gene that makes a protein that is found inside the nucleus of cells and plays a key role in controlling cell division and cell death. Mutations (changes) in the p53 gene may cause cancer cells to grow and spread in the body.

What is the p53 gene and what does it do?

The TP53 gene provides instructions for making a protein called tumor protein p53 (or p53). This protein acts as a tumor suppressor, which means that it regulates cell division by keeping cells from growing and dividing (proliferating) too fast or in an uncontrolled way.

What is the role of p53?

p53 functions as a transcription factor involved in cell-cycle control, DNA repair, apoptosis and cellular stress responses. However, besides inducing cell growth arrest and apoptosis, p53 activation also modulates cellular senescence and organismal aging.

What does the p53 gene promote?

Activated p53 promotes cell cycle arrest to allow DNA repair and/or apoptosis to prevent the propagation of cells with serious DNA damage through the transactivation of its target genes implicated in the induction of cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis.

What cancers is p53 associated with?

P53 mutations associated with breast, colorectal, liver, lung, and ovarian cancers. Environ Health Perspect.

When is p53 activated?

The tumour suppressor protein p53 is stabilised and activated in response to ionising radiation. This is known to depend on the kinase ATM; recent results suggest ATM acts via the downstream kinase Chk2/hCds1, which stabilises p53 at least in part by direct phosphorylation of residue serine 20.

How is p53 inactivated?

Paired with MDM2, also known as HDM2 in humans, the two proteins completely degrade p53 in a laboratory model. This is a process known as poly-ubiquitination, which means a specific protein completely disappears in a cell. They also did experiments on cancerous human brain tissue and found the same results.

How does p53 get activated?

What is the p53 pathway?

The p53 pathway is composed of a network of genes and their products that are targeted to respond to a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic stress signals that impact upon cellular homeostatic mechanisms that monitor DNA replication, chromosome segregation and cell division (Vogelstein et al., 2000).

How do you activate p53?

How do I know if my p53 is activated?

p53 activation is monitored using an antibody that detects endogenous levels of p53 that have been phosphorylated on serine residue, 15. This antibody does not recognize p53 that has been phosphorylated on other sites. Phosphorylated p-53 (Ser15) levels are then normalized against total ERK1 protein levels.

What is p53 ubiquitination?

The ubiquitination pathway is a highly dynamic and coordinated process that regulates degradation as well as numerous processes of proteins within a cell. The p53 tumor suppressor and several factors in the pathway are regulated by ubiquitin as well as ubiquitin-like proteins.

What is the product of the p53 gene?

Test Description. The product of the p53 gene is a nuclear phosphoprotein that regulates cell proliferation. Excess accumulation of the mutant p53 gene product results in inactivation of its tumor suppressor function and cellular transformation.

Why is the p53 gene a tumor suppressor?

The p53 gene is one of the key rule-enforcers. It is known as a ‘tumor suppressor’ because it is important in killing cells that have become potentially cancerous. If the p53 gene gets a damaging mutation, then p53 will stop doing it’s job to protect you from cancer.

Why do you need two hits in p53 to get cancer?

You Need Two-Hits In p53 To Get Cancer. The p53 gene is one of the key rule-enforcers. It is known as a ‘tumor suppressor’ because it is important in killing cells that have become potentially cancerous. If the p53 gene gets a damaging mutation, then p53 will stop doing it’s job to protect you from cancer.

How does overexpression of the p53 gene affect cell proliferation?

The product of the p53 gene is a nuclear phosphoprotein that regulates cell proliferation. Excess accumulation of the mutant p53 gene product results in inactivation of its tumor suppressor function and cellular transformation. Overexpression of mutant p53 gene has also been associated with high proliferative rates and poor prognosis in breast,…